Armed Forces Act 1981

5 Power on reveiw or confirmation to annul the taking into consideration of other offences. U.K.

(1) In section 110 of the Army Act 1955 M1 and the Air Force Act 1955 M2 (which confer various on confirming officers when dealing with the finding or sentence of a court-martial), after subsection (4), there shall be inserted the following subsection—

“(4A) Where it appears to a confirming officer that a court-martial, in sentencing the accused for an offence, exceeded or erroneously exercised its powers under section 105 of this Act to take other offences into consideration, he shall, whether or not he substitutes a different sentence or remits or commutes punishment, annul the taking into consideration of the other offence or offences in question and any orders dependent thereon ; and where he does so, the offence or offences shall be treated for all purposes as not having been taken into consideration.”

(2) In section 113 of the Army Act 1955 and the Air Force Act 1955, in subsection (5) (which confers like powers on a reviewing authority when reviewing the finding or sentence of a court-martial), for paragraph (c) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

“(c) in any case, exercise the like powers of substituting findings, substituting sentences, remmiting or commuting punishment or annulling the taking of other offences into consideration (and orders dependent thereon) as are conferred on a confirming officer by subsections (2) to (4A) of section 110 of this Act ;”

(3) In Schedule 3 to the Armed Forces Act 1976 M3 , in paragraph 20(2) (which confers like powers on a reviewing authority when reviewing the finding or sentence of a Standing Civilian Court), for paragraph (c) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

“(c) in any case, subject to sub-paragraph (3) below, exercise the like powers of substituting findings, substituting sentences, remitting or commuting punishment or annulling the taking of other offences into consideration (and orders dependent thereon) as are conferred on a confirming officer in relation to the findings and sentences of courts-martial by subsections (2) to (4A) of section 110 of the Army Act 1955 ;”

(4) In consequence of the amendments made by subsections (1) and (2) above the following amendments shall be made in sections 133 and 134 of those Acts (which prevent a person being tried twice, whether by a court-martial or other service authority or by a civil court, for an offence of or in respect of which he has been convicted or sentenced), that is to say—

(a) in section133(2), at the end of paragraph (b), there shall be added the words “(as well as in a case where the taking into consideration of the offence has been annulled by the confirming officer or reviewing authority)” ; and

(b) in section 134(2), at the end of paragraph (b), there shall be added the words “(as well in a case where the taking into consideration of the offence has been annulled by the confirming officer or reviewing authority)”.

(5) In section 72 of the Naval Discipline Act 1957 M4 (which confers various powers on the Defence Council on the review of the sentence of a court-martial), after subsection (1), there shall be inserted the following subsection—

“(1A) Where it appears to the Defence Council that the court, in sentencing the accused for an offence, exceeded or erroneously exercised its powers under section 58(2)(aa) of this Act to take other offences into consideration they shall, whether or not they remit or commute the sentence or substitute a different sentence, annul the taking into consideration of the other offence or offences in question and any orders dependent thereon ; and where they do so, the offence or offences shall be treated for all purposes as not having been taken into consideration.”

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 The text of ss. 2, 3, 4(2), 5, 6(1)(2)(3)(c)(4)(5)(6), 7, 8, 10–12, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20(3), 21–23, 24(2), 28(1) is in the form in which it was originally enacted: it was not reproduced in Statutes in Force and does not reflect any amendments or repeals which may have been made prior to 1.2.1991.

Marginal Citations

M1 1955 c. 18.

M2 1955 c. 19

M3 1976 c. 52.

M4 1957 c. 53.